Journalism has been a part of my life for a long time. As a toddler, I remember watching Steve Murphy after supper, seeing my parents read The Chronicle Herald, or walking with my grandmother to the convenience store to pick up the Truro Daily News. When I started elementary school, I watched the school’s weekly morning news broadcast each Thursday. In my upper elementary years, I joined this team, eventually becoming a student leader. In my fourth-grade year, I wrote a class newspaper. This publication compiled happenings on the playground, trending topics in the classroom, and upcoming events. In junior high, I joined (and then directed) this school’s student-led news broadcast. These experiences helped me to further understand the power and importance of the news in our society.

Outside of public school, massive changes began to happen in the Canadian media landscape. In April 2017, The Chronicle Herald purchased 28 newspaper brands from Transcontinental Media (TC Media) and formed the SaltWire Network. This purchase took place over a year into a reporter strike at the Herald, a strike which did not end until August of that year. Following SaltWire’s inception, mergers and layoffs became a constant throughout the Atlantic Canadian company. First, several daily paid-for local newspapers transitioned into a weekly format, including the Truro Daily News (now Truro News). This angered many in my community but was only just the beginning. At the end of 2023, SaltWire once again condensed its portfolio, quietly announcing the mergers of free community papers to “better reflect [their] dynamic neighbourhoods”. This announcement was published on the last page of their papers, and readers discovered the rebrand in the new year. 2024 was the final nail in the coffin for SaltWire when they became forced to file for creditor protection. SaltWire was then purchased by conglomerate Postmedia in August of 2024.

We also saw a similar situation occur at CTV. In February of 2024, Bell Media halted production of most noon and weekend news broadcasts, ended W5, and sold numerous radio stations. This followed an announcement earlier in the day stating that Bell would be laying off 9% of its workforce.

This destruction of the media in Canada has left a void previously filled by talented journalists, who have now been left jobless. It is easier now more than ever for independent journalists to tell stories in their communities. Large media outlets are NOT the answer for reporting so we must find new methods to keep local journalism alive. I think there is a lot of potential for local talent to thrive using social media. Perhaps we will see this emerge in 2025. I will continue to write my own story and share my notebook while I wait.